Time In A Bottle
by shadowglove
Summary: When Klaus attacks Chloe due to a misunderstanding they accidentally land themselves in a time pocket, with no company but each other as they live through the same day over and over again until Bonnie can figure out what has happened and get them out.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/The Vampire Diaries**

A/N: This **_twoshot_** features the winning pairing of my Never Have I Ever poll on facebook, in which Klaus Mikaelson (The Vampire Diaries) went up against Stiles Stilinski (Teen Wolf) and Bellamy Blake (the 100).

AU, obviously.

A/N: The timeline is totally **screwed up**! In this timeline Klaus and his family are still in Mystic Falls - and Bonnie and Damon got stuck together in that **one day** a couple of seasons earlier than they did in the series.

* * *

"Don't push it, blondie." His voice was low, his eyes narrowed, his stance betraying just how annoyed he was with her and the situation they were in. "This is all your fault."

That was hilarious given everything that had happened in the last couple of hours. "Who tried to kill who again?" She wanted to know. "And totally unprovoked at that?"

"UNPROVOKED?" His eyes flashed as he stood tall and loomed over her in what was obviously an intimidation tactic.

"Is there an echo in here?" Chloe wanted to know in faux innocence before she stood as well. "Yes! Unprovoked!"

"Oh, love, let's be truthful here. You deserved that attack." Niklaus Mikaelson, otherwise known as the dude who'd attacked her and caused this whole mess, glared murderously. "If you weren't helping Damon and Stefan plot against me I would not have been forced to—."

"Plot against you?" Chloe scoffed as she interrupted with vicious passion. "I didn't even know your name until half an hour ago! And that's because _you introduced yourself!_ I don't know who the hell you are, and honestly don't care enough to 'plot against you'!" She paused before amending to: "Or at least I didn't until _now_."

Klaus frowned at her. "If you aren't a part of the newest Salvatore plot, then what the hell are you doing here in Mystic Falls, staying with them? Why else would you be conspiring with the Bennett witch?"

"My cousin was turned and unable to control her hunger," Chloe muttered with a flinch at the memory of seeing Lois like that. "I met Stefan some time back when he came to Smallville, and I figured that if there was anyone who could teach her how to control her bloodlust it would be him."

"What does that have to do with the witch?" Niklaus wanted to know suspiciously.

"Lois isn't handling the change well, like I said, she can't control her hunger. Stefan says that if we can't help her to control her hunger she could become a Ripper," Chloe informed him primly. "It would be nearly impossible for me to stop her if she snapped and attacked people around us, or _me_ , so Bonnie and Stefan came up with this idea and I agreed."

"What idea?" Niklaus narrowed his eyes.

"Some time ago Bonnie and Damon were trapped in a single day in Mystic Falls - I think it was in the nineties but I could be wrong - and Bonnie figured it would be a good place to train Lois."

"How is your cousin supposed to get some sort of control over her bloodlust if there are no humans around?" He sneered.

Chloe pointed to herself. "What do I look like to you?"

He glared at her.

"Stefan and I were supposed to stay here with Lois until she learns to control herself. Bonnie was working on a way to anchor us so that when Stefan got a message to her - I'm not exactly sure how he'd do that - she'd be able to find us in our little pocket in time and pull us out into the right timeline. They hadn't completely worked out the kinks last I heard since this wasn't supposed to happen yet." She motioned to the empty town of Mystic Falls. "So I don't know how in the world to get into contact with Bonnie or let her know we are here and need extraction."

"How could you not know how to get in contact with the witch?" Niklaus' glare was murderous. "This is all your fault!"

"You! Attacked! Me!" Chloe glared right back at him as she moved into his personal space.

He snarled at her. "If you had not been so mouthy—!"

"You! ATTACKED! Me!" Chloe repeated with a snarl. "If you hadn't done so the amulet wouldn't have triggered the transportation before the spell was a hundred per cent ready! They probably don't even realize what's happened! And when they do there's the question of how to figure out which pocket we're in and how to get to us! I haven't been magically anchored to Bonnie yet!" She poked his chest angrily. "This is _your_ fault!"

"What is keeping me from killing you right this instance?"

"How about the fact that the amulet is bound to me and if you kill me you'll destroy any chance of Bonnie finding you?" She raised an eyebrow. "Also, killing me might close this pocket universe, and what would happen to you _then_?"

"It might send me home," he replied coldly as he caught her finger and kept it in an unforgiving grip.

" _Or_ you could be sent somewhere else, somewhere worse," she sneered. "All alone."

"I am not afraid of being alone," he declared in a threatening tone.

"Then do it." Chloe ignored the pain in her neck and tilted it to offer him another bite at her the curve of her neck, the skin of which was broken and bloodied from his earlier attack - the bloodletting which had activated the amulet and brought them here in the first place. "Go ahead."

Niklaus moved quicker than lightning, forcing her tilt to a painful degree, presenting her neck even better to him. After a split second in which he visibly admired the way he'd torn into her neck earlier, he brought his mouth to the shredded mess and… ran his tongue over her open wound. It was a painful sensation, one that had her jerking instinctively.

"What are you waiting for?" She snapped.

He seemed to be considering something, and quickly came to a decision. With a sigh he once more moved with dizzying speed. The vampire grabbed Chloe's hair, yanked her head back, and shoved something up against her mouth. It was only when her throat moved instinctively and she'd swallowed two mouthfuls of thick metallic that Chloe realized he'd opened his own wrist with his teeth and was forcing her to drink his blood.

The blonde fought Niklaus but he was too strong. She was forced to swallow the blood to keep from drowning in it. The taste made her inside queasy in disgust.

It was only when he was good and ready that Niklaus shoved her away from him with so much force she nearly lost her footing and fell. "Don't read anything into this. If I didn't need you, you'd be dead already."

" _Asshole_!" Chloe snapped at she fought to keep on her feet.

"You're really ungrateful." Niklaus sneered at her. "I just healed your neck. I didn't have to do that."

" _Ungrateful_?" Chloe moved up towards him. "You're the reason _why_ it needed healing!"

Niklaus' face shifted, he snarled and snapped his fangs in her face, and then raced away, leaving her alone in the blink of an eye.

"Real mature!" Chloe yelled into the air before she growled and stormed away.

…

Four days later Nikalus Mikaelson finally made his presence known. He stormed into the Salvatore Boarding House and threw himself on one of the comfy seats in the living room. There wasn't any acknowledgment of her presence as she lay on the sofa with a glass of scotch in one hand, and one of the books from the living room in the other. She didn't acknowledge him either as he sat there for thirty minutes in silence, nor when he got up and served himself something to drink as well before returning to his seat and drinking sulkily in utter silence.

Night fell upon them, and Chloe didn't get why electricity worked, but she was glad for that as she turned on the lights and got comfortable once more the sofa. She was halfway through the newest book she'd stolen from the library, and spent the next couple of hours intrigued with Gulliver's Travels. Only when she was done did she glance over in Niklaus' direction only to find him with a walkman, earphones in his ears as he listened to a CD. His head was thrown back, his eyes closed, and his foot shook, betraying his obvious enjoyment of whatever he was listening to.

 _I wonder what he's been doing these last couple of days. Probably trying to see if leaving Mystic Falls breaks the spell_. Which, of course, it didn't. Bonnie and Damon had travelled the Continental US while trapped in their own time pocket.

Getting up, Chloe went to the kitchen and made herself a sandwich with the ingredients in the fridge, just like she did every night. But the time she'd wake up tomorrow the day would have reset itself and anything she'd eaten the day before would be there again, so she at least didn't have to worry about going hungry.

"You look very relaxed given the situation we've found ourselves in," Niklaus declared from behind her.

She jumped and twirled around to face him, gripping the knife she'd been using to spread the mayonnaise with tightly. "Don't _do_ that!" She glared at the vampire who was leaning against the wall, watching her. "Damn it, Niklaus! You're going to give me a heart attack!" Shaking her head, she turned her back on him once more and returned to making her sandwich. "And anyway, it won't do me any good to get in a state. I've left messages carved into places both here and at Bonnie's house giving the day stated in the newspaper as well as my name." She glanced at him over her shoulder. "I figured if they knew you were here they mightn't want to get us out."

"Klaus."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I prefer Klaus," he informed her, completely ignoring the other part of what she'd said.

"Good for you." She finished spreading the mayonnaise and put down the knife. In seconds her hair blew in the wind and she found her hands pinned to the surface of the table by his, his body behind her. A muscle jumped in her cheek. "What. Do. You. Want?"

"I'm hungry." His breath was against her hair.

A moment's fear raced through her heart but she kept her voice even. "I'm sure there's blood here somewhere."

"I've looked. There's no blood anywhere. Stefan and Damon must not have been around during this year." Klaus' voice was low and vibrated against her ear. "It's not a good idea to starve a vampire when you're the only food source around."

He had a point, no matter how much she hated to admit it. "Let go of my hands."

Surprisingly enough he did so immediately and instead gripped the counter's edge as he remained pressed against her from behind.

Clearing her throat, Chloe gathered her blonde hair over one shoulder and tilted her neck, baring it to him. "Don't maul me like last time. I'm not your freaking chew toy."

"That was an attack," he informed her, as if she hadn't already known that. Klaus teased her neck with his teeth, nibbling on the skin softly before he suddenly bit down.

Chloe jolted at the sensation, but stuck between him and the edge of the counter there was no place for her to go. Green eyes widened and her breath escaped her parted lips loudly. Fingers joined his as she gripped the edge of the counter on each side of her body, her pinkies touching his thumbs. It hurt, it _did_ , but it wasn't like the horrible attack she'd survived before. It hurt… but it also _felt good_.

Breathing heavy, Chloe's grip on the edge of the counter tightened painfully when she felt his purrs of pleasure vibrating through her. A surprising jolt of desire pierced through her lower stomach, and her face flushed in embarrassment, sure he'd be able to smell it soon enough. This… this wasn't supposed to be a turn on. This… this was supposed to be something she tolerated so he didn't go all Ripper on her!

Klaus finally let his fangs slide out from her skin, but his lips and tongue took their place as he lapped up the blood that continued to surge to the surface. Chloe's eyes closed and she found herself enjoying his ministrations, awed by the contrast between this feeding and the previous one.

Only when her blood had coagulated did Klaus pull away.

Chloe remained where she was and took in a deep breath before forcing herself to finish her sandwich in silence, and once done placed the things back in the fridge and threw the knife in the sink. Sandwich in hand, she was relieved to find him gone by the time she finally turned to where he would've been had he stayed. Chloe was not ready to accept the fact that she'd enjoyed what'd happened between the two of them, and was glad that he didn't expect her to do any sort of talking.

She found him in the living room, right back on his seat, earphones in, head, tilted back, and foot shaking in enjoyment of the music.

Throwing herself back on the sofa, Chloe flinched at the soreness in her neck and wondered why Klaus hadn't healed it this time like he had the last time. It wasn't as if it was bleeding though, so she pushed the thought out of her mind and started her newest book.

…

Seated cross-legged on the floor, Chloe watched Klaus stalk back and forth. It'd been fun at first to see him so frustrated, but by now he was getting her dizzy. It'd been two full weeks of their sharing the Salvatore House, with Chloe finding new places to try and leave messages for Bonnie and Stefan in the future, but so far either they hadn't found the messages, or they hadn't found a way to get Chloe and Klaus out of this pocket of time.

She hoped Lois was okay.

"Elijah and Rebekah should have gotten me out by now!" Klaus had been snapping things like this for the last couple of hours while pacing back and forth. "What are they doing? Sitting down on their hands while bloody sipping _tea_?"

"They can't exactly sip on tea if they're sitting on their hands, now, can they?" Chloe asked in a deceptively helpful tone.

He ignored her, as he'd been doing to each and every one of her smart-alecky responses to his snarls.

Chloe leaned her head hard against the wall and gazed up at the ceiling.

"If they don't get me out of here soon I'll dagger them!" He kicked at the wall seconds before twirling on his heel and continuing to pace.

"How exactly do you plan on doing that if they don't get you out?" Chloe wanted to know.

Not surprisingly, Klaus continued to ignore her.

Rolling her eyes, Chloe pushed to her feet and left the room.

"Oi!" He called after her. "Where are you going?"

"Away from you!" She called at him over her shoulder as she moved towards the front door, only to find him suddenly leaning in front of it, trapping her inside. "Are you lonely?"

"If I didn't know that I'd go insane with boredom if you weren't around I'd kill you," he informed her casually, as if talking about the weather.

"I thought you weren't scared of being alone." She threw his earlier words at him.

"I'm not." He made a face. "I just would prefer _not_ to be alone." He raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Plus, you're the only source of blood here."

"Right." She nodded in agreement. "Does this mean you're done throwing a tantrum?"

Klaus' lips parted. "That was _not_ a tantrum!"

"Is _that_ so?" Chloe laughed, she couldn't keep the sound from slipping from her lips. "Then, pray tell, what exactly was that?"

Klaus opened his mouth, closed it, and then, surprisingly enough, grinned. " _Venting_."

"Hhhmmmm." She moved closer to him. "Are you done _venting_ , then?"

"For today," he informed her, that grin still in place. "I'm sure I'll have more to vent about later. You _are_ the only company I have in this hell hole and you _are_ vexing."

"Ha!" She flicked his chest with her finger and turned on her heel, marching away.

Klaus followed close behind. "How was your cousin turned?"

She stopped and turned to look at him in surprise. In these two weeks he'd never showed any interest in her (other than to feed) or in her life outside of this time pocket. "Why?"

"I'm bored," he informed her with a half-shrug. "Amuse me."

Well, _that_ figured. "Our friend was turned when she unknowingly pledged a vampire sorority." Chloe still couldn't believe that Lana Lang was a vampire. "She was planning on turning Lois and I, to make us lures like her, when another friend saved us… but not before she'd changed Lois." Clark had made it his mission to hunt down Lana and stop her from hurting others, while Chloe had made it hers to help Lois find a way to walk in the sunlight again and control her vampiric urges so she could live life again.

Klaus continued to eye her silently.

"It should've been me, it was _going_ to be me first, but Lois mouthed off when Lana came at me and so Lana directed her fury on Lois." Chloe still couldn't forgive herself for being unable to stop it. "I have to help her, I—if it wasn't for her trying to protect me she never would've been turned. This is _my_ fault. If she can't learn how to control her hunger—."

"I could Compel her to," Klaus informed her in an odd tone.

Chloe looked up at him in shock. " _What_?"

Klaus eyed Chloe in silence before he let out a deep breath. "I'm an Original Vampire, and with that status comes certain _perks_. Perks like being able to Compel other vampires and get them to do what I want them to… as long as they are not on vervain." His gaze lowered to where she'd gripped the material of her blouse over her heart. "I could Compel your cousin so that she could control her hunger, and she would, just like _that_." He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

Hope sprung up in her chest. " _Could you really_?"

He nodded. "It wouldn't be for free."

Her breath left her loudly. "Well of _course_ it wouldn't." Folding her arms over her chest, Chloe glared at him. "What would the price be?"

"I'm not sure yet," Klaus informed her as he moved passed her, knocking his shoulder into hers softly. "What do you have to offer?"

Twirling on her heel, Chloe chased after him as he walked through the long, winding boarding house. "I don't have anything you can't Compel for yourself."

"True," Klaus acknowledged as he threw himself down on the sofa and eyed her curiously. "I seem to have all the cards. You'll have to help your cousin the old fashioned way."

"Niklaus, have I told you today how much I hate you?" Chloe asked resentfully as she stood there, hip jutted out, hands folded defiantly over her chest.

"It's _Klaus_." He grinned brightly. "And, yes, you have."

"Well, Niklaus, _I hate you_." She made her way towards the front door once more.

This time he didn't try to stop her.

…

"I can't believe you drank all the booze in the house before the day can reset - _and want more_." Chloe wasn't sure whether she was disgusted or impressed. But if she was being honest, walking around the supermarket was a nice change of pace, even _if_ Niklaus was filling the cart she was pushing around with nothing but different sorts of liquor.

"Really, love, we both needed to get out of the house," he informed her as he came back with two huge bottles of rum. His grin was wide as he shook them at her. "Let's have a party."

"It's not a party if there are only two of us," she informed him.

"You're a boring old woman," he informed her as he put one of the bottles in the cart and uncapped the other, taking a _long_ drink from it. When he was done he voiced his approval of the taste and turned to her with a playful grin. "Maybe we were brought here so I can teach you to loosen up."

" _Maybe_ we were brought here because you attacked me, unprovoked, and triggered a spell prematurely," she countered with an innocent smile on her face.

He pouted. "Still haven't forgiven me for that, huh?"

She motioned around her at the empty world they were living in. "Of _course_ I haven't."

"Well, at least I'm more interesting a person to be stuck in here with than Stefan." Klaus flung an arm around her shoulder and leaned in close, as if sharing some deep dark secret with her that he didn't want anyone else overhearing. "I don't know what happened to him, but he's become _so boring_."

Chloe didn't _want_ to laugh, but she couldn't help herself. "Stefan's not _boring_."

"Oh, but he _is_." Klaus turned his head to look at her, eyes wide. "He used to be a _blast_ in the roaring 20s! Imagine my surprise when I meet him again and he's so… _blah_."

When he drifted into silence, she sent him a sideways glance and noticed that he'd trailed off of his rant regarding Stefan's boringness in favor of staring at the curve of her neck. Klaus' gaze seemed to be on the marks that were permanently there, his fang marks. The veins under his eyes darkened as he gulped and licked his lips.

Surprised, given the fact that he only fed once a day and did so at night, Chloe recovered quickly and found herself instinctively drawing her hair aside, stretching her neck in offering.

The sight caused Klaus to jolt visibly, his gaze raising up to her face in question.

Confused at the question in those eyes, Chloe shook her shoulder in invitation.

Klaus eyed her shoulder, her face, her neck, and then smirked as he leaned in. Yet instead of biting, Klaus nipped at her skin and pulled away when she shrieked in surprise at the ticklish jolt that it gave her. He snickered in amusement and then was off to get more booze.

Hand to her neck, Chloe watched him go, a confused expression on her face.

…

"Dear Diary," Klaus droned on from behind her, his voice higher than usual and appropriately dramatic. "I'm stuck with that devilishly handsome vampire who has my nethers in a fluster. All the sexual frustration is leaving me miserable inside. I wish he'd take me with his large, throbbing manhood."

Chloe's attempt to keep her face straight failed miserably as she glanced upwards to see his mischievous smile beaming down on her. "Niklaus, you never told me you're dyslexic."

" _Klaus_." He jumped down from the angel statue he'd been leaning against and plonked himself next to her at its feet. "Writing in a diary in a cemetery on a foggy day… isn't that overly dramatic?"

"I'm not _writing in a diary_." Chloe showed him the notebook she'd been writing in. "I was making a _list_."

"A list." He raised an eyebrow.

"Of what I'm going to do once I get out of here," she clarified.

Klaus glanced around them. "Why are you doing that in the cemetery?"

Chloe shrugged. "Stefan said that the first time he officially met Elena it was here, and she was writing in her diary in this exact spot, so I figured it might be good luck."

"Ah." Klaus nodded and leaned back against the angel with a knowing expression. "You were hoping history would repeat itself and you'd meet a dashing, vampiric Prince Charming of your own."

She grinned. Niklaus could be a huge asshole, but he was a fun one. "Yes, I was. And then you had to appear and remind me I'm stuck with you instead."

Klaus faked a hurt expression as he brought his hand to his heart. He then sat up, shoulder against hers as he glanced over at her notebook once more. "What's in this list?"

"Helping Lois is obviously the first priority," Chloe began as she tapped the first entry on her list with her pencil. "It'll take a while, I have no idea how long, but we'll work through it, and she's stubborn, she'll fight for control and win." Of that she was sure. Lois hated being a vampire, being a danger to humans in general (and her loved ones in particular) and Chloe knew that Lois would gain control of her Hunger and kick its ass. "Once the three of us are back, though—."

"Wait." Klaus' smile disappeared immediately. "You're still planning on going back into a time bubble when we get out of this one?"

"Once Bonnie has been able to stabilize and ready one for us… yes." Chloe doodled a smiling, fanged mouth on the page. She'd meant the mouth to be Lois', but the lips were clearly masculine the more she looked at them. "It's why I came to Mystic Falls in the first place, remember?"

Klaus smiled, but the expression didn't meet his eyes. "Don't you think you'd be bored? You would've just escaped this hell… only to spend who knows how long in another time pocket with only your rabid cousin and boring old Stefan as company."

"She's not rabid." Chloe glared at him before taking in a deep breath, calming herself. "And I _like_ spending time with Stefan." She smirked. "Plus you tell me that I'm a boring old woman, so that basically makes Stefan and I a perfect match."

"I wouldn't say that," Klaus informed her with a disgusted look. "I cannot imagine you with him."

A part of Chloe, the one that was used to guys overlooking her in favor of beautiful brunettes, felt her defenses prickling instinctively. "Why not? Elena's asleep for who knows how long, Bonnie's with Damon now, and considering Stefan had that fling with Rebekah he's proven he likes blondes." She gave a half-shrug as her gaze returned to her notebook and she dragged the tip of the pen heavily on the page. "And he's a tall, dark haired guy with a savior complex and more than occasionally gives into a broody demeanor." She gave a small laugh. "He's definitely the type I always go for."

There was silence, and then Klaus laughed, the sound somewhat mocking. "Well, no _wonder_ you reek of sexual frustration."

Flushing in embarrassment, Chloe sidled him with a narrowed glare. "Maybe I _'reek of sexual frustration'_ because I've been stuck here for a month with _you_!"

"Oh no, you reeked of it from the first moment I saw you." Klaus was showing no ounce of mercy. "You reek of sexual frustration because Stefan Salvatore is your type." He sidled a little closer and in a very casual move rested his arm over her tense shoulders, his smile now an insufferable smirk. "I think you need to change your type, love."

What exactly was his endgame with this play? "Are _you_ sexually frustrated, Niklaus?" At the shock on his face, Chloe raised an eyebrow, reluctantly amused. "Has the dry spell you've gone through during this whole month left you making advances on the one source of relief around you?"

" _Klaus."_ He opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. "Are you offering to provide said relief?"

If it wasn't for the fact that she was literally the only person he could find that relief from she would've been flattered. As it was, though, Chloe knew better than to let his question do anything to her ego. "If we don't get out in two more weeks I'll consider it." Closing her book shut with a snap, Chloe walked away from Klaus towards the direction of the car.

"Love?" He called oddly from behind her.

Gripping the notebook to her chest, Chloe turned around to face him. "Yes, Niklaus?"

Klaus was leaning back on his elbows, eyeing her with an odd glint in his eyes. "How about we blow this town?"

She paused in confusion, not sure exactly what to say. "But Bonnie—."

"Might find your many vandalizing carvings tomorrow, or she might find them two years from now," Klaus interrupted with seemingly little care for the subject as he pushed up to his feet. He skipped towards her and once more threw an arm around her shoulder as he turned her around and moved her towards the car. "I will be _damned_ if I spend two years in Mystic Falls."

Confusion filled her, but it was mixed with intrigue as Klaus walked her towards the car and stole the keys from her pocket. "What are you suggesting?"

"New York, Las Vegas…" He leaned close. "Let's see if we can get to Hawaii." He grinned. "And if we can… the world's our oyster."

"Hawaii?" Chloe bit her bottom lip, feeling temptation bubbling up inside of her. "I've never been to Hawaii."

" _That_ is a shame." Klaus tutted as he opened the passenger's side door for her. "One that I will have to rectify immediately."

Chloe slipped into the front passenger's seat. "Immediately?"

Klaus grinned brightly. "Immediately." And with that he closed the door.

…

"Say it," Klaus ordered as he loomed over her.

"No." Chloe turned her back on him as she stretched out happily on the beach-side lounge chair. Wearing one of the many bikinis she'd 'borrowed' from the store, she bathed in the sun, lazy and tranquil. She still couldn't believe she was here, in Hawaii, basking in the sun, drinking alcohol and cooking food in one of the hotels' kitchens. They'd commandeered the penthouse suite and had made it their own, he in one room and her in another.

" _Say it_." Klaus' shadow loomed over her, blocking every little bit of sunlight.

" _Fine_." Twirling to lay on her back, Chloe stared up at him. "You. Were. Right."

Klaus grinned toothily, cupping his ear as he tilted his head towards her. "What was that?"

"Nobody likes a show off," she informed him with a raised eyebrow, but when he merely smirked at her she rolled her eyes and nodded. "You were right. This is _much_ better than spending time waiting in Mystic Falls." She licked her lips. "And as long as we keep calling home and leaving messages not only will Bonnie and Stefan know where we are, but we'll be able to get into contact with them the second they arrive in this time pocket."

"Exactly." He nodded with a grin as he reached over her and picked up her bottle of wine from where it was inside of the bucket of ice.

Chloe snatched it from him and smiled as she took a sip.

Klaus' grin grew as he watched her.

…

"Anything?" Chloe asked as she peeked her head in.

Klaus stood by the window, arms folded over his chest, expression dark as he peered out at the beautiful scenery.

"Niklaus?" Realizing he was so concentrated on whatever he was thinking that he hadn't even heard her, Chloe frowned as she stepped into the room. "Niklaus?"

The Original Vampire jolted slightly and peered over his shoulder at her. "Let's go to London."

The blonde blinked in shock, not having expected that in the least bit. "London?"

"Yes." He turned to face her, a smile on his face which didn't reach his eyes. "Let's go visit London, and then check the rest of Europe." He moved closer. "I'm getting angsty."

"So, no answer, huh?" Chloe sighed as she threw herself down on his bed. "I was sure that they would've figured something out by now." She bit her bottom lip. "Are you sure you're dialing the right number?" Chloe reached over and grabbed the telephone, intent on dialing the Salvatore Boarding House.

"Of course I know the number," Klaus muttered as he took the phone from her and placed it on the side table once more. "Have you ever been to London?"

Eyeing the phone, Chloe realized that Klaus was actually way more affected by their time here than she'd thought. He hid his emotions well, she'd been so convinced that he was enjoying himself, and yet here he was, obviously uncomfortable and angsty. He looked like a lion trying its hardest not to pace in its cage. "How do you expect to get from here to London?"

Immediately his smile went wide. "I'm glad you asked." He sat down next to her. "There's a private yacht on the other side of the island."

Chloe stared at him in silence before she finally shook her head. "No."

Klaus' frown returned. "No?"

"This is far enough from Mystic Falls. If we went on a yacht to _England_ … the amount of time it would take to go back… what if Bonnie and Stefan only have a certain time frame in which they can get us back? Hawaii is far enough on its own, but England? It's pushing it."

"What if they never come?" Klaus wanted to know.

"What if they come tomorrow?" Chloe countered. "You can go to England. You enjoy yourself. Me? I'm staying here, I'm going to enjoy myself, and then I'm going back to Mystic Falls."

"I thought we were going to pull a Bonnie and Damon and visit the Continental US," Klaus suddenly changed tactics, eyes narrowed, seeming insulted for some reason. "Are you saying you're just going to give it all up and go back to Boringsville?" He sat up taller and loomed over her. "And why are you so anxious to get back all of a sudden? They're not there. The witch nor Stefan are in Mystic Falls. And as long as they are not there we don't have any reason to be there either!"

"Why are you so annoyed?" Chloe asked curiously as she turned on the bed to face him.

"Why am I annoyed?" Klaus snarled at himself as he threw his hands in the air. "I don't know! Maybe because you're the least accommodating person to be trapped in time with! You're no fun! You're—you're— _what are you doing_!"

Chloe couldn't believe it. She'd seen it but just couldn't… She laughed in amusement and looked up at him. "You're throwing a tantrum because you're _horny_!"

"I'm not—!" Klaus groaned when she gave an experimental tug on him. "— _throwing_ a _tantrum_!"

"Mmmmhhmmm?" Chloe hummed as she pulled in closer and straddled his hips while entwining her fingers behind his neck.

Klaus' eyes scanned her face. "So it's a yes?"

Chloe's answer was to kiss him.

Groaning, Klaus wrapped his arms around her and didn't let go as he lowered her down onto the bed.

…

The next two weeks went by in a blur. Chloe found herself in a constant state of either arousal or sleepiness, one usually proceeding the other (in that order). There probably wasn't a place in the hotel or its surroundings where she and Niklaus hadn't had sex, and she realized she might have an outdoors kink. It also wasn't until Wednesday on the third week that she realized that she was having so much fun that she'd stopped making sure Klaus had called the house. He'd insisted he be the one to do so, and in an effort to give him a job in order to help him feel productive (and thus keep him from being moody) she'd agreed to that. Plus, he wanted to get out of there into their time just as badly as her so she didn't see the issue.

"A _journalist_." Klaus shook his head, a smirk on his lips and surprise in his eyes. "I can't picture it."

"Why not?" Chloe leaned up on her elbows as her back soaked in the wonderful sunlight.

"Well, you don't seem the ruthless type," he responded.

"Oh, I've been ruthless in my day," she informed him with some shame as she remembered the deal she'd made with Lionel Luthor when she'd been young, vulnerable, hurt and stupid. Even now she couldn't look back on those days without a flinch.

"So why does the world not know vampires exist if you're some hotshot journalist?" Klaus wanted to know curiously, teasingly.

"Well, the only vampires I know are people I care about," Chloe responded truthfully. "I wouldn't want to do anything to put them in danger, especially not now that Lois is a part of the community."

Klaus eyed her oddly. "Have _you_ ever considered taking the bite?"

"You mean become a vampire?" She guessed, and when he nodded she made a face. "I haven't really given it any thought, no."

"Why not?" Klaus wanted to know as he sat up. "Your cousin's a vampire now. That means you'll grow old and die and she'll live on by herself."

"Lois makes friends easily," Chloe assured him as she sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. "I'd make sure she had someone… Plus, I know that Stefan wouldn't let her—."

"Ah yes, the Salvatore brother with the hero hair." Klaus rolled his eyes as he leaned in closer. "I thought you actually _liked_ your cousin."

"You know, for someone who swears Stefan was your bestie in the 20s, you sure do talk smack about him a lot," she informed him, eyebrow raised.

"Do I?" Klaus asked curiously.

"Yes, you do."

"Hmmmm." Klaus' gaze searched her face. "I could do it."

"Yes, you could, and you do," she laughed as she once more stretched herself down on her stomach on the towel, her weight on her elbows.

"No." All playfulness was gone from Klaus' tone. "I mean that I could give you the bite."

Shock raced through her at the unexpected offer. "Why would you do that?"

"Consider it a gift," he replied, tone odd.

"If you're going to give me a 'gift', why not just Compel Lois to be able to control herself?" Chloe wanted to know in confusion. "That's the gift I really need."

Displeasure crossed his face. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then got up. The Original Vampire stalked away down the beach, body tense.

Chloe watched him go and realized that she would never understand Niklaus Mikaelson.

…

Niklaus spent that night out and Chloe realized in shock just how much she actually missed him, his absence felt in the room they now shared. She tried to read some of the books she'd taken from the bookstore in the hotel, but her glance kept going to the clock and then to the door. Was Klaus really not going to come back? Why in the world had he been so insulted?

Finally giving up her attempt to be immersed in the book, Chloe reached for the phone. She dialed the number she'd learnt by heart and listened to the dial-tone ring out until she got Zach Salvatore's machine. "Hey Stefan, Bonnie, it's me, Chloe. Niklaus is somewhere having a snit so he isn't the one calling today like usual." She gazed up at the ceiling. "He might've forgotten to re-record the message the last couple of days, I don't know, we've been busy… But since the day resets and we're not sure whether that means the messages will be deleted or not… here I am with today's message." She stood and went to the window. "We're in Hawaii, believe it or not. Niklaus got angsty and somehow, thankfully, we managed to make it to Hawaii without the boat - I don't know - resetting to its original location at each day's end. Then again, Bonnie and Damon travelled the states while they were in _their_ time bubble, so I shouldn't have been _too_ worried about that." She left the name of the hotel and their room number while she remembered that. "How trippy is it that everything works in a time bubble - but everyone else has just disappeared? And everything repeats itself? I don't blame Niklaus for getting weird—."

"What are you doing?"

Chloe turned towards to find Klaus standing in the open doorway, a frown on his face. "I'm leaving today's message for Bonnie and Stefan." She turned her back on him and returned her gaze out of the window. "Well, His Royal Sulkiness has arrived, so I'll cut the message short. Bye." Hanging up the call, Chloe turned to him and her eyes widened to find Klaus right behind her. "That's it! I'm getting you a bell to hang around your neck!"

Klaus took the phone from her and threw it over his shoulder on the bed before, in seconds, he had Chloe pressed against the wall with his fangs in her neck and his thigh between hers, rubbing her as he tore open her shirt.

Head tilted back, Chloe closed her eyes and groaned as pleasure began to coil deep in her gut.

…

Chloe wasn't exactly sure why Klaus had decided they needed to travel to New Orleans after they left Hawaii (his cabin fever was growing), but she found herself enjoying the hell out of the city, even if it was empty. It had a power to it, a feeling of ancient magic and, well, it was obviously a fun place to be. She'd definitely wanted to see what the place would be like with actual people around.

"I used to love this place," Klaus muttered, lips against her skin as she sat on his lap, his arms around her body and his mouth teasing her skin. "I had thought of settling down, but we had to leave due to my father."

Chloe leaned back against his chest, searching for a more comfortable position as she reached behind her and massaged her fingers against his scalp. Like she'd suspected, at just the mention of the father who'd hunted him and his siblings for centuries, Klaus tensed. Her fingers worked over him, slowly relaxing him. "Is this your first time back since then?"

"Technically, yes, but I don't count this trip," Klaus answered, voice a purr of pleasure at her ministrations. "I love this place, but this isn't _truly_ New Orleans. New Orleans is alive. Its people make up half of its charm." He nibbled on the curve of her neck. "Next time we come will be my _true_ return. I'll show you the real New Orleans. You will love it as much as I do."

Chloe's eyes widened and her hands froze. Was he talking about _after_ they got out of the time pocket? Because it sure seemed so. "Why don't you let me decide that for myself?"

"I will, love," he chuckled. "But I just know you well by now."

"Someone's feeling cockier than usual." She could hear the amusement in her own voice. "What has you in such a good mood, Niklaus?"

"Do I have to have a reason?" He wanted to know as his hands raised to cup her breasts over her chest.

Her smile turned wicked as she circled her hips on his lap. "Want to inaugurate New Orleans?"

He chuckled. "I thought you'd never ask."

…

She. Loved. New. Orleans. Two months passed with Klaus showing her every inch of the place, while recounting the many misadventures and fun he'd had with Marcel and others. He told her about life with his siblings (whichever were talking to him at that time period in his life). His stories about his family mostly revolved around Rebekah and Elijah, who seemed to have been his closest family members. There were so many great and unusual stories, and the way that Klaus' face lit up when he told them was fascinating. Sure, she enjoyed the stories, but she enjoyed his expressions and mischievous glee as he recounted them even more.

Chloe realized that Klaus was right. She'd love this place even more when there were more people, when there was singing and dancing and everything that made New Orleans so _alive_. She was going to come back once she back.

Klaus was out doing something, he had something cooking up, she wasn't sure what but knew he was planning something, some sort of surprise. It was only when she finished writing in her third notebook that she realized that she hadn't actually made the phone call to Mystic Falls in quite a while. The blonde reached for the phone and dialed the Salvatore's number, waiting for it to ring out patiently before beginning to leave her message. "Hey Stefan, Bonnie, it's me again. I know it's probably useless to keep leaving these messages but—."

A click. " _Chloe_?"

Chloe's eyes widened and she nearly dropped the phone as she stood. " _Lois_?"

"Chloe!" Lois cried out in relief. "We've been so worried! When you weren't in Hawaii we—!"

"Hawaii?" Chloe asked in confusion. "Why would you look for us there?"

"Because that's the last place you told us where you were!" Lois snapped at her. "We got so worried! We _went_ to Hawaii when you wouldn't answer the phone, but there's been no answer from you! We've been searching all over but Bonnie's magic isn't tracking you down! We thought you and Klaus were dead! Why didn't you leave a message saying wherever you guys are now?"

"But we have," Chloe whispered as she sat down once more. "Niklaus has been leaving messages every day."

"Chloe." Lois' voice was soft. "The only message logged in this answering machine is the one that you sent from Hawaii. There's nothing else. Klaus Mikaelson lied to you. He never left one message."

Chloe stared ahead of her in horrified shock, in betrayal. She told Lois where she was and agreed that she'd make her way towards Mystic Falls immediately. In fact she nearly got up and left the second that she ended the phone call, almost left Klaus and denied him the chance at freedom like he had her, but in the end she couldn't do that. In the end she sat in the driver's seat, not even coming out when Klaus rounded the corner, a large smile on his face, only to stop when he noticed her in the car with the running engine.

In seconds he was at her door, which he pulled open, concern on his face. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"I spoke to Lois today." Chloe knew her tone betrayed her anger and hurt. "They're waiting for us in Mystic Falls." She clenched her hands. "Why did you lie to me?" Green eyes rose to meet his finally. "I _trusted_ you."

Klaus gulped, his lips pressed in a grim line, his face a mask of defiance, of anger. He wouldn't meet her gaze but his body language did not show any hint of remorse.

"Get in the car or stay, I don't care." With that she yanked the door out of his grip and slammed it shut. She stared in front of her, refusing to look at him, disgusted, disappointed, humiliated and hurt. When he didn't move she put the car into gear and began to reverse. Klaus suddenly was at the passenger door. He yanked it open, slid in, and slammed it shut.

Silence.

Locking the car doors, Chloe reversed out rapidly and peeled out of the parking lot.

…

"Are you going to ignore me the whole drive?" Klaus asked casually as his fingertips trailed over the dashboard. "Because it will be a very boring trip if so."

"What is there to say?" Chloe wanted to know as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. They were close to Mystic Falls by now, close to saying goodbye to this time pocket and to each other. Chloe had once thought she and Klaus might be able to maintain some semblance of a relationship, of a friendship, once they left, but she knew now that after this it wouldn't be possible.

If Klaus had had any sort of respect for her, if he'd cared even the slightest bit about her he never would've done what he had. There was no way that she could be friends - be anything - with someone like that.

"I'm not going to apologize," Klaus informed her, completely unrepentant. "I did nothing wrong."

She hit the brakes and brought them to a screeching halt in the middle of the road. "Are you that much of an idiot?" She slammed the heels of her palms into the steering wheel. "Because of you we could've been stick in here forever!"

"Don't be dramatic."

"Dramatic?" She glared at him furiously. "Don't push me, Klaus!"

For the first time since this conversation had begun, Klaus looked disturbed. " _Ni_ klaus."

"What?" She glared at him.

"You never call me Klaus," he answered. " _Don't_ call me Klaus. It sounds wrong coming from you."

"That is the least important—!" Chloe growled. "How could you do this to me?"

"Do what?" Klaus wanted to know, tone defiant. "Show you places you've never seen before? Offer you Europe?"

"You lied to my face!" Chloe couldn't keep her voice from trembling with emotion. "You knew how worried I was about my cousin! How desperate I was to get out of here so I could help her!"

"You weren't driven by worry, you felt guilty because she was turned while trying to protect you," Klaus drawled, his eyes and tone lacking any sort of compassion. "The only reason why you were so desperate to get out of here was so your self-appointed penance could begin. Don't pretend your reasons were altruistic, they were your only way to assuage your guilt. Your reasons were, and have always been, selfish."

She flinched. Was that really how he saw her? Hurt bloomed in her chest as she looked away and fought the desire to cry. She wouldn't give him the pleasure. He wasn't worth it.

Instead of speaking, of continuing the fight, she instead stepped on the accelerator and floored it out of there.

She couldn't wait to be as far away from Niklaus Mikaelson as she could get.

…

"Hi, you guys almost here?" Stefan was the one to answer when she dialed the number late that night.

"We're three hours away." She lay on the bed of the motel room she'd claimed for herself. "I'd keep driving if I could, but I'm barely managing to stay awake as is."

"Why doesn't Klaus just take over?" Stefan wanted to know.

"His Royal Highness cannot be bothered to." She snarled and then sighed. "He and I aren't on the best of terms right now. The best thing we can do is give each other some space before one of us is killed." Despite the fact that Klaus was a vampire, and thus basically immortal, Chloe was still betting on herself to win that fight given just how pissed off she was. "I can't wait until we get there." She closed her eyes. "Once we're back home I hope I never see him ever again."

"Where are you? Are you sure you can't push on?"

She told him the name of the motel and its approximate location, before confirming she was too tired to continue on. "We'll get there by tomorrow morning, Stef."

They spoke for a little longer before Chloe fell asleep on the line. She was so emotionally wrecked she fell into a deep sleep.

It wasn't until many hours later that she woke up. At first she wasn't sure why she'd woken up, but then she felt an arm tighten its grip around her waist, drawing her close against a chest which rose and fell in tranquil breath. Klaus' legs curled around hers, trapping her against him just as effectively as his grip around her waist.

Lying there, feeing Klaus' breath against her neck, Chloe couldn't stop the tears she'd been holding since she'd found out about his deception. While no sound escaped her lips, Chloe's body shook softly with her silent sobs as the vampire slept tightly wrapped around her, like he usually did.

She must've fallen asleep, because the next time she opened her eyes there was sunlight streaming in through the windows, and she was alone in bed. Chloe battled conflicted feelings as she got up, bathed and then froze when she opened the door to find the car missing. She looked at the keys in her hand and then at the empty parking lot in confusion. Not exactly sure what was going on, she made her way to Klaus' door and knocked.

There was a stumble, a groan, and then Niklaus opened the door, his chest bare and his hair ruffled. He brought a hand up to shield his gaze from the sunlight behind her as he stared at her expectantly.

Chloe motioned to where the car had been.

Klaus peered passed her at the empty parking lot. "Where's the car?"

"I don't know." She held up the keys. "It should be there."

His sleepy gaze landed on her. "Is this some sort of trick?"

"No." She stared at her keys in growing confusion. What in the world was happening?

Klaus yawned and stretched like a cat might. "Call Stefan. Make him be useful and pick us up."

A little embarrassed for not having thought of that sooner, Chloe nodded and returned to her room, where she immediately called the Salvatore Boarding House.

No one answered.

* * *

 **TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/The Vampire Diaries**

* * *

They found another car rental agency after walking for a few hours. That was why it was night by the time they finally arrived back in Mystic Falls. Neither had exchanged many words during the long drive but Chloe had felt Klaus' gaze on her neck. He hadn't fed yesterday, and hadn't fed tonight either, he was bound to be getting famished by now. Despite the fact that he hadn't said anything Chloe knew that if they didn't get out of there soon she'd have to feed him.

"So?" Klaus strolled through the Salvatore Boarding House's front door, his hands shoved his his jacket's pockets, eyebrow raised. "Where are Captain Self-righteous and the Rabid Cousin?"

Ignoring Klaus, Chloe hurried deeper into the dark place. "Lois? Stefan?" There was no sign of life inside of the place. Confusion and worry twisted in her gut. "Guys!? Where are you?"

Klaus switched on the lights as he went.

Chloe didn't even bother as she hurried up the stairs, yelling up above her. "GUYS? STEFAN? LOIS?" She searched and called all around upstairs before hurrying back down and doing the same, only to find the house empty. Confusion swelled inside of the blonde like a hurricane as she stumbled into the living room, finding Klaus sitting by the fireplace in his seat. "I don't understand."

"There's no one here." Klaus leaned forwards, elbows on his knees as he glanced up at her.

"Where would they go?" Chloe asked softly as she collapsed on the sofa. "They knew we were coming, that we were close. Why would they just up and disappear like this?"

Klaus shrugged, his gaze going towards the fireplace. He stood in one languid movement and started making a fire. Not one word was spoken between them as he made it, his gaze on the flames as they sprung to life and caused shadows to dance all over his face. He stared into the flame.

"You need to feed." Chloe finally broke the silence, her voice a soft sigh.

He smiled an ugly smile. "I'm not in the mood to make it a pleasant experience."

"You'll be in less of a good mood the longer you starve yourself," she informed him as she yanked the neck of her shirt down to reveal the marks his fanged had left in her throat from repeated feeding. Even when they'd stayed in cities with large blood banks Klaus had continued to feed solely from her, and while she'd been curious as to why she hadn't questioned it, maybe she hadn't because then she'd have to question the fact that she'd been flattered by it. "I don't want to have to deal with you when you're feral with hunger."

"You don't want to 'have to deal with me' either way," he muttered as he stoked the fire. "It's amazing how quickly your attitude changed the second Stefan reappeared."

Fire and ice fought within her veins as anger bubbled deep in her stomach. "Do _not_ try and turn this on me. This has nothing to do with Stefan and _everything_ to do with _you_!"

"You seemed like me just fine yesterday," he declared as he stood, anger and defiance in his every fibre. "But it only took one conversation with Stefan to remind you that I'm the monster of the story, and make you ashamed, regretful and disgusted." He stalked towards her. "Admit it, you enjoyed your time with me here, and you _hate_ yourself for it."

She stood her ground and tilted her head back to make sure her eyes never lost contact with his. "The only thing I regret is _trusting_ you." Fists clenched, Chloe fought the tears she could feel springing up in her eyes. "I've grown up learning that I can't trust anyone around me, they'll let me down. My mother abandoned me. My father loved me but was never there when I needed him to be. The man who said he wanted to become my mentor wanted _so much more_ from me. The deputy who was supposed to protect me _buried me alive in a field_." She took in a heavy breath, seeing a flash of something in Klaus' face before he forced it expressionless. "I grew up knowing I can't trust people, and yet for some _stupid_ reason I thought I could trust _you_." She grit her teeth. " _Thank you_ for reminding me otherwise."

"I'm not your _mother_ , your _father_ , your _mentor_ or that _deputy_!" Klaus snarled as he moved closer. "I refuse to pay for their sins!"

"You're not! You're paying for your own! How do you not _see_ that?" Chloe snapped at him. "YOU broke my trust! YOU!"

Klaus stared at her, displeasure deep in his face. "You've made up your mind about me."

She nodded. "You made it up for me."

Darkness filled Klaus' eyes. " _Fine_." Seconds later the veins in his face darkened, his fangs descended, and he snarled as he buried those fangs in the curve of her neck.

 **…**

Her neck throbbed.

Chloe stared at her reflection in Stefan's room, which she'd claimed as hers despite having stayed in Elena's room during her last stay here with Klaus. Maybe a part of her had wanted to spite Klaus, or maybe she felt comforted here, or maybe it was both, she wasn't sure. All she knew as she stared at the red, puffy fang marks in her neck, was that Klaus had purposely fed in such a way that while it didn't tear her up, it would be painful and remind her of those fangs for days to come.

The asshole.

Shaking her head, Chloe moved towards Stefan's bed and collapsed on it. She stared at the ceiling and sighed, wondering where Stefan Salvatore was at this instance. He was going to get an ear-full from her for having left her, that was certain. And then, after she'd finished chewing Stefan out, she'd hug Lois and cry for a bit.

Tears filled her eyes and she pressed a pillow against her face to hide the sounds of her sobs.

…

Klaus must've been taking more blood out of her than usual, because after every feeding she felt weaker than ever. It seemed like something he'd do, especially out of spite, and Chloe fought against her resentment. Why the hell was he being such an asshole? He kept acting as if she'd done something against him, as if she was the one at fault, when she knew that that wasn't the case here! He was the one at fault!

Falling into bed, Chloe fought to keep her eyes open, but she could feel sleep descending on her. Her last thought before sleep claimed her was: _I have to get out of here!_

…

"Where could they _be_?" Chloe had finished searching the house and the front and back yard for what felt like the hundredth time. Both Klaus and herself had been back in Mystic Falls for a week now, and there'd been no sign of Stefan or Lois or Bonnie or _anyone_.

Why would they just leave? They'd known that Chloe and Klaus were on their way. Why not wait? Something felt wrong, but she couldn't figure out what exactly was going on.

Klaus didn't really seem to care, he merely gave her space and did things on his own, only seeking her out when he needed to feed. Chloe wasn't sure how she felt about that. On one hand she honestly wasn't emotionally ready or willing to deal with him. On the other hand she was confused, worried, and felt very much alone.

Her green gaze went to the living room where she knew Klaus was, but instead of joining him there she chose to exit the house once more. Maybe she'd missed something somewhere. Maybe she hadn't looked close enough, hard enough. It was with these thoughts that she stepped into the forest and pushed on harder, journeyed in further than she had before.

 _Lois wouldn't have just abandoned me here, not unless she'd had no other choice, and even in that sort of situation she'd have left me a note. I just need to find it. I need to look harder_.

So concerned with studying the ground and trees for some sort of clue, Chloe didn't automatically understand why her surroundings were becoming harder to detail. She didn't know how much time passed, but the next time she looked up it was to find the sun set and the last rays of light disappearing from the sky.

Horror filled her. How could she have gotten so distracted as to not realize how late it was? She immediately started the return trip only to find herself completely lost as darkness descended. Chloe found herself walking around blindly, hardly able to see anything around her. Tears stung her eyes, further blinding her.

Less than an hour after pitch blackness had claimed the forest, Chloe admitted to herself that she wouldn't be finding the way home tonight.

Klaus' name was on her lips, but she bit it back, knowing that even with his enhanced hearing there was no way that the vampire would be able to hear her. And what if, by some miracle, he _did_ hear her? There was no reason to believe he'd actually come out to help her. Sure, she was his blood supply, but they both already knew that there were blood banks close by where he could go if he was truly hungry. He didn't need her here, didn't need her alive, so how could she really trust him to actually want to keep her that way?

 _I sometimes wish I'd never made that call_. _We could still be New Orleans. Happy. At least_ ** _I_** _was happy._

And that was part of why Chloe was so conflicted about this whole matter. Klaus was right. She'd enjoyed her time with him, had been having a much better time than she'd had in years. For the first time in far too long her purpose in life hadn't been about helping someone else, helping the world, it'd just consisted of _living_ , and for someone who was _undead_ , Niklaus knew quite a lot about _living._ The vampire had become someone special to her, and it hurt to realize that she obviously hadn't meant a damned thing to him other than as company and a free meal.

 _Get over it, Sullivan. Lois will come back for you and you'll never see him ever again. You just have to wait for the day to reset and start your quest over again._

Resigned, Chloe was about to plunker down and wait for the day to reset when suddenly the ground beneath her gave way, and with a scream she fell through the earth. She felt as if she'd been falling forever before she finally landed, hard, and then everything went black.

…

 _"Chloe?"_

…

 _"CHLOE?"_

…

 _"CHLOE?!"_

…

" _Chloe_!"

…

 _"CHLOE!_ "

…

That voice, distorted and demonic, made her force her eyes open to find a blinding light on her, shining from up above.

She tried to open her mouth, but the pain was too great, and everything went black once more.

…

Next time she was conscious must've only been a couple of minutes later, because Chloe found herself being eased up into strong arms.

"Don't close—!"

Her eyes closed and blackness returned.

…

Nearly choking, Chloe's eyes flew open as desperation filled her at the realization that she couldn't breathe. She tried to fight but she was forced still. Something happened, she swallowed, and suddenly she could breathe again. The sounds around her were distorted, her body in pain, and her gaze wasn't focusing, light and shadows mixing to further distort the blurred world around her.

She was conscious enough to know that someone was seated on the cold, wet ground, cradling her body in his lap, her head rested against his chest, her mouth forced open as it filled with strong metallic. Blood. Someone was feeding her blood. Someone was healing her.

" _Shhhhhhh_ ," that voice whispered in her ear. "Calm down, love. It's okay now. _You're_ okay now. I'm here."

 _Klaus_.

Chloe calmed down enough to stop fighting his hold on her, her eyes fluttering as she rested her cheek over his heart. Relaxing her throat, she took in as much of his blood as she could before she lost consciousness once more.

 **…**

"You _idiot_!" Klaus snarled as he slammed his palm sideways into the wall when she woke up later the next day, wrapped up in bed. "What were you _thinking_? You could've died! You _would've_ died if I hadn't—!" His eyes were wild, feral almost, the veins under them darkening. "If I hadn't gone looking for you, you would be _dead_ right now. If I hadn't found you in time to feed you my blood—I nearly wasn't—I—!" Klaus slammed his fist harder into the wall, leaving a dent in it. "You had _no right_ to put your life in danger like that! It was so _stupid_!"

Chloe opened her mouth.

" _Shut up_!" He hissed. "I know you want to get back to your life, but if I have to break your legs to keep you from getting out of bed and doing some stupid like that again _I_ _will_." He shook his head, surprisingly enough a hint of panic in his expression before it was gone and replaced by fury once more. "Stay here. I think the soup is burning." With that he stormed away, slamming the door shut behind him.

Chloe stared at the door in shock. Just what the hell had that been about? She hadn't expected that sort of anger, of fury, from him, and didn't know how to feel about the fact that he'd obviously been extremely worried about her - didn't know how to feel about the fact that she wanted to smile. _I'm angry at him. Don't forget that, Chloe_. The blonde eased herself in Zach's bed (which Klaus had claimed as his own) and peered up at the ceiling. A second passed by and she realized she needed to go to the bathroom.

She'd only managed to slip out of bed and take two steps before the door was open, and Klaus was glaring at her.

"What did you think you're doing?" He wanted to know in a dangerous tone.

"Do you _want_ me to pee in your bed?" Chloe finally managed to find her voice.

Understanding dawned on his face and in seconds she was being picked up and then lowered by the toilet. Klaus closed the door as he left.

Staring at the closed door, Chloe snickered. "You've got to be kidding me." And yet she used the toilet, flushed, washed her hands… only to suddenly find herself seated on the bed once more, with the bedroom door being slammed closed behind Klaus as he left. _This is going a little overboard_! _I CAN walk_! And yet she realized she had no other choice but to slip back under the covers and nestle in bed.

She must've fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew, the room smelt of chicken soup, and she could feel Klaus' fingers on her throat. For a moment she thought he wanted to feed, and then she realized he was checking for a pulse.

A sleepy chuckle escaped her lips as she turned to face him. "Don't you think you're being a _little_ over protective?"

Klaus' only answer was to motion for her to sit up, and once she did he placed the tray of food on her lap. He left the room without another word.

Chloe ate the food in silence, and it was only when she was finished that she remembered that there wasn't any chicken soup in the house, which meant that Klaus had gone shopping. The realization had her lips twitching in a surprised smile. Why exactly had he gone to that length? His blood was all that she'd needed to be healed, she was fine, just a little sleepy. He knew this better than her.

Putting the empty tray on the side table, Chloe snuggled back in the bed and fell asleep. She woke up hours later to find Klaus seated in the corner of the room, reading a book in absolute silence. The blonde stared at him before her eyes closed once more and the next time she awoke it was to find Klaus sleeping in that chair.

Sitting up, she hugged her knees to her chest and just looked at him. It couldn't have been comfortable at all, but he was dead to the world on his perch. He must've been hungry, he hadn't fed, but he hadn't made an advance despite the fact that they both knew she was basically 100 per cent again.

Slipping out of bed, Chloe moved towards Klaus and hesitated a second before placing her hand on his knee and rubbing it. " _Klaus_."

He groaned and opened an eye, clearly still half asleep.

Reaching for his hand, Chloe pulled the vampire out of the seat and led him to his side of the bed before scooting in over to hers. She then lay on her side, back to him. She hadn't forgiven him, and yet…

Kicking off his shoes and pulling off his jacket, Klaus got into bed, staying on his side for the first half hour before finally curling around her from behind, his thigh slipping between hers while his arm wrapped around her waist. They both knew that she was still awake, that Klaus was testing his boundaries, and that she was slowly but surely thawing towards him.

"Why won't you at least apologize?" Chloe whispered as she stared ahead of her in the darkness.

"Because I didn't do anything wrong," he whispered in her hair. There was clear hesitation, and then: "I _did_ call. Maybe not every day like I said I would, but I _did_ leave messages. I never told them _where_ we were, but they had contact information." He groaned. "And I _might've_ taken us to New Orleans when you gave out our location because… well, the witch wouldn't be able to track our exact location there, but I _did_ leave a number where your cousin or my siblings could call us. I mightn't have been ready to go back, but I was not going to deny us the _ability_ to go back should we want or need to, or contact with our family."

Eyes wide, Chloe pulled away so she could turn to face him, seeing the truth in his shadow-covered face. " _Why didn't you tell me this when I confronted you_?"

He snorted. "As if you'd believe me. By the time I got there you'd already made up your mind."

Chloe scanned his face, looking for some hint of a lie, and yet she couldn't find anything. "You should've told me."

"You wouldn't have believed me," he repeated darkly.

"Yes, I would've," she argued. "Especially after the car disappeared! That proves that something weird is going on here!"

Klaus frowned at her. "I've been thinking about that since it happened… How sure are we that there isn't anyone else in here with us?"

…

"So you're a hundred per cent sure that there's no one else here in Mystic Falls?" Chloe frowned as she eyed Klaus closely. She'd been stationed on guard at the house, which really meant Klaus had wanted her out of the way because he could do everything faster without her, but hadn't wanted to actually come out and say that to her face because he was smart enough to know the consequences.

He nodded. "There isn't anyone else in town. I've looked everywhere."

"What if it's a witch? They'd be able to hide themselves from you," she reminded him.

"There's no witch," Klaus informed her. "My mother was the Original Witch, my siblings and I have it in our blood. Even though we were turned and are unable to be witches as well, we know things, _I_ know things." He shook his head. "There is no witch."

"So, no human, vampire or witch." She made a face. "A werewolf maybe?"

"No, our moon is always full," he reminded her. "It isn't a werewolf. And anyway, I would've been able to sniff him out easily. I checked in wolf form as well." At her look, he grinned. "I _am_ the Original _Hybrid_."

She hadn't noticed the phase of the moon. "I should be glad you're not compelled by the moon to shift."

Klaus merely grinned. "I'd think you better than anyone else would know I don't need the moon to be a wolf in the sheets."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "No human, vampire, witch _or_ werewolf. Nothing. Nada. Zip." She threw her hand in the air. "Then what else _is_ there? What could be causing these _glitches_?"

"Tell me about the spell used to bring us here, the amulet." Klaus leaned against the wall, arms folded over his chest. "Did it have any other purpose than transportation?"

Chloe licked her lips. "Yes, it did. It was supposed to latch onto Lois. One of its functions was to monitor her… stability I suppose. As long as she was still unstable she wouldn't be able to leave."

"What if, instead of latching onto your cousin, the spell latched onto _me_ when I attacked you?" Klaus theorized. "Could that somehow explain what is going on here?"

"I thought of that, but you have control over your bloodlust, it would make that function moot," Chloe responded quickly with a shake of her head. "The spell was meant to latch onto the least stable person in the group - Lois - and would change things to better suit that individual's needs."

"That's hardcore magic," Klaus muttered under his breath.

"That's Bonnie Bennett," Chloe praised. "But remember, the spell wasn't _complete_ yet. There were still things that had to be done before it, and we, were ready to make this trip."

He nodded, gaze on her neck.

Chloe fought the blush she could feel climbing her neck. "Are you hungrier than usual lately?"

Klaus' gaze rose to hers in question.

"You… you keep looking at my neck," she informed him with a slight stammer. "I used to think it meant you were hungry, but I don't know, I'm starting to wonder if it means something else." She laughed. "In the worse of it between us you were still looking at my neck, and I was worried you were thinking of snapping it." She shook her head. "But no matter whether we're fighting or working together… you're always looking at my neck. And I'm wondering what exactly is behind that? Is it a predator thing, or….?"

"It's not a 'predator thing' as you so eloquently put it," Klaus muttered, visibly uncomfortable. "It's a…..thing."

She leaned in closer, not having caught the muttered middle part. "A _what_ thing?"

He glared at her. "It's a vampire thing, okay? It… I've drunk from you enough times, and regularly enough, for your neck to have scarred with my fang marks on you. They fit perfectly to my shape." He cleared his throat. "I've never actually fed from one person long enough for that to happen. I usually get bored and kill the person long before it can happen."

"Good thing for me I'm your main source of food, huh?" Chloe rubbed her neck subconsciously, feeling the scarred fang marks under her touch.

He glared darker at that. "It's not—you're impossible, you know that, right?"

"I'm curious, it's my nature." She cleared her throat. "I mean, Lois has bitten me a couple of times and never—."

Klaus frowned immediately. "She's bitten you?"

"Yeah, and it's a good thing my metahuman ability kicked in, otherwise—."

"Metahuman ability?" Klaus interrupted once more. "I remember you telling me about the metahumans in your town, but I do not remember you telling me that _you_ were one as well."

"I only discovered it when Lois attached me the first time." Chloe let out a shaky smile. "I heal others. Not myself. So when she started drinking my blood it healed her enough to snap her out of whatever dark place her feral mind had taken her, and they were able to get me to a hospital in time to save my life."

"Why didn't she give you her blood?" Klaus wanted to know.

"We didn't know vampire blood would heal me, we were still kind of ignorant and out of our depths," she admitted.

"So… I heal you with my blood, and you heal me with your blood?" Klaus smiled at that. "It's a workable symbiotic relationship."

She rolled her eyes. "Romanticism thy name is Klaus Mikaelson."

Klaus' smile disappeared immediately and he looked away. "I need something to drink." And with that he left.

Frowning, Chloe wondered what exactly had happened to change his mood so quickly. "Was it something I said?"

…

"How long do you think we've been here?" Chloe wanted to know as she lay on the fluffy rug and stared into the fire.

"A couple of months," Klaus responded without hesitation as he served himself a drink. "I lost some time during our road trips, but we spent a little over two months in Hawaii, and then two more in New Orleans."

"There's no way that we could've been followed by anyone all that time without them messing up somehow and us figuring out," Chloe muttered to herself.

"Definitely not," Klaus huffed as he came towards her and lowered himself on the rug with her. "My family must be enjoying themselves greatly now that I'm not there to reign them in. At least your family came for you, mine hasn't showed any sort of interest." He looked a long gulp of his drink. "It seems that they have no intention of me leaving this place."

Chloe glanced over at him and watched him. For the first time ever she realized there was loneliness and hurt in his eyes.

Taking the glass from his hands, she threw it in the fire, and as the flames burned bright with it Chloe pushed Klaus down on his back and straddled his hips. They hadn't… not since New Orleans… and he had every right to tell her _no_ after how she'd treated him, not even giving him the benefit of the doubt… and yet Klaus reached for her, their lips met, and Chloe whimpered as she found herself beneath the vampire.

…

"Go. Away. You. Monster." Chloe lay on her stomach on their bed, her face hidden in the pillow.

Klaus, the asshole, had been making up for time lost, and for the last two weeks he'd been nothing but a lecherous pervert. Even now he was leaning half over her, pressing languid kisses to her naked shoulder. "Don't want to."

She chuckled at his petulant little voice. But then Klaus did something that woke her up completely and had her back arching. His fingers threaded over hers as he completely covered her back with his body, his lips worshipping the side of her neck as his hips moved.

It was all Chloe could do but squeeze his hands tightly and cry out in pleasure.

…

"So, I see that everyone's worrying was for nothing."

The blonde sat up in shock from where she'd been sunning in the back yard. Her eyes opened widely and she turned to see the last person she would've expected. " _Damon_?"

Damon Salvatore raised an eyebrow, not even introducing the two people standing behind him. "So, my little Bonbon has been worried that the reason Stefan and Lois were expelled from this time pocket was because it had collapsed. _Clearly_ that wasn't so, so it really makes me wonder what's going on in here."

"Stefan and Lois were expelled from this time pocket?" Chloe asked in shock as she hurried to her feet. "How?"

"They say it was like they were pushed out. Literally. Like the time pocket didn't want them." Damon looked Chloe over. "You're looking awfully good for someone who—." Damon's eyes widened. "Wait." And then he was yanked into the air by means unseen and disappeared rapidly.

Chloe stared up at the sky in shock. "What—?"

"I'm assuming that the time pocket expelled _him_ too," the male declared from behind her, drawing her attention to him. "Apologies for my brother apparently getting you two stuck in here."

"Your brother?" Chloe's eyes widened.

"I am Elijah Mikaelson," he informed her with a small bow. "This is our sister, Rebekah."

So _she_ was the one who'd had a fling with Stefan in the 20s! "You came for him." Chloe couldn't keep the smile from her face as she pulled them both into a tight hug, visibly shocking and confusing them. "I'm so happy you're both here!"

"Is he being _that much_ of a nuisance?" Rebekah asked in an odd tone before snorting. "What am I saying? This is Nik, of _course_ he is."

Laughing, Chloe pulled away. "He started to worry you didn't want him free."

"He would deserve that after all he's done," Rebekah informed her with a sigh. "But I suppose Elijah and I are somewhat masochistic."

"She just doesn't want to say she missed him," Elijah translated for Chloe.

Chloe's lips curled in a smile as she motioned them towards the house. "Come on in. Your brother's out restocking our alcohol supply. Somehow he manages to drink more than the house has in one day." She shook her head. "He should be back soon."

"I'm back, actually, love."

They turned to find Klaus emerging from the woods, a couple of bags of alcohol in hand. He looked at Elijah, Rebekah, and then raised an eyebrow. "You sure took your jolly ol' time."

Rebekah snorted and folded her arms over her chest. "It's not like you were making it easy on anyone. Really, Nik!"

"You look well, brother." Elijah, unlike Rebekah, did not seem at all bothered by Niklaus' attitude, in fact, he was smiling.

In seconds Klaus was standing before them and had passed two of the bags to Rebekah and the others to Elijah. He then turned to Chloe. "Let's go inside. Let them earn their meal."

" _Klaus_." Chloe scolded as she went to take some of the bags from his siblings.

Klaus' eyes darkened in displeasure as his grip on her tightened. "Come, love. You can't _still_ be angry at me."

She looked up at him in confusion. "Of course not."

He opened his mouth, as if to say something else, before he glanced behind him and seemed to think better. "Let's go inside."

…

Klaus had taken Elijah out with him again to get things to make a large meal, and while things with Rebekah had been awkward Chloe tried to make it work. She wasn't sure exactly why they were still there and not leaving immediately but she figured Klaus wanted to fix things between him and his siblings before they left so she didn't push anything. Understanding just how important family was, and how hurt he'd actually felt at the fact that it'd seemed his siblings didn't want him out of this place, Chloe had no issue giving him as much time as he needed to get things right with his brother and sister.

"Your cousin is a spritely one," Rebekah informed Chloe as they sat in the living room, drinking wine. "She stormed over to our house and demanded we help. To be honest we weren't sure Nik _wanted_ to come out."

Chloe looked up at that. "Why not?"

"Things were… _rough_ … before he disappeared. And then we finally found out _what_ had happened, but from what we were being told _he_ was the reason why he wasn't free. We weren't sure whether to come or not." Rebekah took a long gulp of her glass of wine. "Your cousin seems to have wrapped Elijah around her finger though, because she convinced him that we needed to come and get you two out whether Nik wanted that or not, and Elijah, while usually always faithful to our brother's wishes, convinced me to do as your cousin wants." Rebekah made a face. "I believe he's in love with her."

Chloe's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

Rebekah nodded. "Ever since Stefan and Caroline came to ask his help Compelling Lois to control her bloodlust he's been… fascinated… to say the least." She gave a little shrug. "She'll drive Nik insane, which, of course, means I approve of her completely."

Chloe's lips twitched in amusement. "She _would_ drive him up the wall."

"And what a sight it will be," Rebekah chuckled before she took in a deep breath. "You must be desperate to get out of here, especially given everything. How many months are you?"

"I think we've been here roughly five-six months by now." Chloe couldn't believe that now that she said it out loud. "Time's gone by _so quickly_. It's amazing."

Rebekah took a long sip. "I meant how far along are you in the pregnancy."

Chloe laughed. "I'm not pregnant."

Rebekah's expression slipped. "Yes, you are."

Chloe's laughter faded into a confused chuckle. "No. No. I'm not. That's impossible. I had my period right before I was sucked into this time pocket."

Rebekah leaned forwards, eyes wide. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying it's impossible, because I was not pregnant when I came here. I hadn't been with anyone for a _very_ long time." Chloe tightened her grip on her glass of wine. "So if I were pregnant…" She went pale and dropped her glass. "It's impossible. Right? He's a vampire. There's no way that…"

Rebekah's eyes were impossibly wide, her lips parted. "Chloe. It's faint, but there's a heartbeat inside of you." She put down her glass of wine and came closer, placing her hand to Chloe's stomach. "I doubt Elijah or Nik have realized, I've always had the best hearing out of my siblings, and the heartbeat is _very_ faint… but it _is_ there." Rebekah looked, surprisingly enough, as if she were having problems breathing. "Are you telling me that the child you are carrying belongs to _Nik_?"

Something broke.

Both blondes turned to see Klaus and Elijah in the doorway, both holding bags of groceries, both staring at the girls in wide-eyed shock.

Chloe just stared at Klaus in slight terror. "It's _impossible_ , right?"

Klaus just stared at her in wide-eyed shock. "I've been trying to figure out why you've seemed different since Hawaii…" He turned to Rebekah. "A _heartbeat_?"

"Faint yet steady." Rebekah nodded, her shock turning into visible glee. "Nik! Is this child _yours_?"

" _How_?" Elijah's mouth fell open. "How is this _possible_?"

Nik leaned hard against the arched doorway. "Your blood." His gaze went to Chloe immediately. "Could it heal my vampire half enough that my _wolf_ half could conceive?"

Chloe's eyes widened and she brought her hand to her mouth. "Oh my god. The spell connected with _our baby_." She glanced down at her stomach. " _That's_ why Stefan and Lois were thrown out!"

"I don't understand," Elijah admitted as he drew closer. "Why would your child not want them here?"

Chloe closed her eyes. "Because at the time my plan was to get to them and never see Klaus _ever_ again." She groaned. "The car would've taken us to them, so the time pocket changed things to accommodate the needs of our child." She finally opened her eyes and turned to Klaus. "I don't know if we're going to be able to get out of here. Not if he or she doesn't want us to."

Klaus didn't seem to be listening to her. His gaze was on her stomach. The vampire hesitated a second before he drew in close and lowered to his knees. Ear pressed up against Chloe's stomach, Klaus' eyes closed, his expression scrunched in concentration. For a couple of minutes there was nothing of silence, Chloe was even scared to breathe.

Suddenly Klaus tensed, it was visible to all, and then he opened his eyes and tilted his head up at Chloe. "There's a heartbeat."

Chloe's heart skipped a beat as she gasped. Klaus' words were a confirmation which drove out any doubt from her mind.

It was around that time that she fainted.

…

" _…I promise_."

Groaning, Chloe woke up to find herself in their bed, Klaus lying with his head on her lap, his gaze on her stomach, which was was caressing softly. She was still extremely tired, but that was nothing new.

Klaus smiled when he noticed her eyes open. "So I finally get why feeding from you has been draining you so much more than usual. I wasn't the only one feeding."

She hadn't considered that. Her hand joined his on her stomach. "What are we going to do? What is our baby going to be? A vampire? A werewolf? A metahuman? A _witch_? All _four_? They're all in its bloodline!"

"Very good question," Klaus admitted as he squeezed her hand. "I think we'll find answers in New Orleans." At her expression he chuckled. "The _real_ New Orleans." He cleared his throat. "I have a place there. We will be more than comfortable for as long as we need." He sighed. "There's even enough room for your rabid cousin if you desire her there… God knows I won't be able to keep _Rebekah_ away."

"She's not _rabid_ ," Chloe whispered softly, a small smile on her face. "Rebekah says Elijah has a thing for my cousin."

"There'll definitely be no getting rid of her then," he sighed in defeat and then laugh when she slapped his shoulder.

Placing a hand over her flat stomach, Chloe still couldn't believe that she was carrying a child - Klaus' child - deep inside of her. In a few months she was start to show - in fact she was surprised she wasn't showing right now, even if just a little. "Are you sure we'll find answers in New Orleans?"

He nodded and placed his hand over hers on her stomach. "I promise."

"Our child is going to be the first of his or her kind," Chloe whispered in both awe of and fear for her baby. "When people find out—."

"I'll protect him or her," Klaus informed her gravely. " _No one_ will touch our child, _or_ you. I will tear them apart before they can even think of harming either of you."

"What about after the birth?" Chloe asked softly. "When we leave—."

"Why would you leave?" Klaus wanted to know immediately.

"I live in Smallville," she reminded him.

"Once you've tasted the flavor of New Orleans you'll never want to leave," he promised her.

"I have a job at the Daily Planet in Metropolis, I'm off on vacation now but—."

"You're going to be the mother of a child who will potentially be vampire, werewolf, witch _and_ metahuman," Klaus interrupted immediately. "I think _that_ is going to be your job for the next couple of years."

"I have bills to pay," she pressed on stubbornly.

"I have money to pay them," he informed her. "And you'll have less bills to worry about when you're living with me in New Orleans."

"But isn't that only until we find out what our child is and how to protect him or her?" Chloe asked in confusion.

"We can start with that," Klaus dodged the question as he traced a design on her stomach with his finger. "How about we just concentrate on our baby right now and let everything else fall into place later? For right now let us just focus on our child, and how to bring him or her into a safe environment where he or she can grow up happy and healthy. That sounds fair, doesn't it?"

She should probably fight more on the subject, but she really didn't want to. She wanted to say yes, wanted to give in, and so she did. "It does, Niklaus."

Klaus suddenly looked up at her and smiled brilliantly.

Not sure why she felt self-conscious, Chloe diverted her gaze to her stomach. "What if our baby doesn't let us out of this time pocket?"

"Don't worry," Klaus assured her as he caressed her stomach. "Our kid and I have talked it over, things are going to be fine."

"Is that so?" Chloe wanted to know in amusement.

"It is."

…

 **Four Years Later**

"Gemma Mikaelson!" Chloe glared at her four year old daughter, who was smiling up at her innocently. "Put your Uncle Pete down!"

Gemma giggled, displaying fangs as she ceremoniously dropped her hold on Pete, who was thankfully caught by Clark, who lowered their friend carefully the rest of the way.

Pete turned his gaze towards his wife, Lana, who'd been snickering and offering no sort of help whatsoever. " _Thanks for nothing_."

"What?" Lana had gone through some ups and downs, but after meeting and turning Pete she'd finally gotten some help and had been able to control herself finally. She and Pete had married soon after and he'd helped her mend her burned bridges. "It was cute."

Gemma peered up at Chloe. "Mommy, Uncle Pete _flew_."

"Did he now?" Chloe picked up her daughter with a laugh. "All on his own? No little witchy-witch helped him?"

Gemma stared up innocently at Chloe. "You think Aunt Bonnie was involved?"

Laughing, Chloe rubbed noses with her daughter. "Oh, you're going to go that route, are you?"

Gemma just continued to smile up innocently at her mother.

Shaking her head, Chloe held her daughter close and moved to where Bonnie and Damon were leaning against each other, Damon's arm around the witch's shoulder as they conversed with Stefan and Caroline, and Alaric and Lucy Lane, who were the newest couple of the group. Over to the side, Lois was fixing Elijah's already perfect bowtie, and Rebekah was running her fingers through Clark's hair, the two incredibly gushy with each other. Kol and his girlfriend Davina were playing cards against Finn and his girlfriend Sage, the former couple totally cheating and getting away with it because Finn and Sage paid more attention to each other than they did the game they were playing.

"Daddy!" Gemma called excitedly seconds before Klaus' arms wrapped around Chloe's waist, bringing both against him.

"How are my favorite girls?" Klaus wanted to know.

"Your daughter levitated Pete in the air and then tried to blame the whole thing on Bonnie," Chloe informed him.

" _Mom_!" Gemma gasped in betrayal.

"That's my girl," Klaus praised as he reached over and rubbed Gemma's golden curls.

" _Niklaus_!" Chloe gasped in betrayal.

Gemma giggled happily. She then shimmied, letting her desire to be put down known, and then raced towards Elijah and Lois.

"She's such a handful," Chloe sighed as she leaned back against Klaus.

"I agree," he surprised her. "But my brother has always been quite the masochist." He laughed when Chloe slapped the hands wrapped around her waist. "Gemma will be better when she has a little brother to run around after."

"That's what _you_ say," Chloe muttered as she rested her hand over his on her slightly protruded stomach. "I think we've gone and done it now."

A snicker escaped Klaus' lips as he nuzzled her hair. "Remember your promise. After this one you take the bite."

Sighing, Chloe watched her daughter climbing up Elijah as if he were a tree (much to Lois' amusement) and she smiled. While she'd always hesitated at the thought of taking the bite, of losing the little bit of humanity she had left, things had changed. When their son was born in a couple of months Chloe would have two immortal children. She didn't want to grow old and die and leave them motherless, not when she could avoid it. "I remember."

"Good." Niklaus held her closer and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "To eternity."

Brushing her thumb over his hand, Chloe turned her head and peered into his beloved, arrogant face. "To eternity."

They sealed the promise with a kiss.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed.**


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